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DIPOL Weekly Review - TV and SAT TV, CCTV, WLAN

No. 8/2008 (Feb. 25, 2008)

Power of technology - Mobile World Congress - Barcelona 2008. The congress was held between February 11 and 14. The event organized by GSM Association (GSMA) - association of 690 GSM operators from 214 countries and territories - seemed to surpass other prestigious trade affairs, both in terms of exhibitors and visitors. In Barcelona there were 1290 companies, about 55 000 visitors saw their stands. The audience that took part in the accompanying conferences was estimated at 8 000 people. So high interest in this technology arises out of the scale of the market. Enormous investments and mass market encourage manufacturers, scientists, and marketing specialists to develop new and improved products. This year the interest focused on LTE technology (Long Term Evolution) - the newly adopted standard (January 2008). It should be commercially launched on the market in 2009, and able to compete even with fiber-optic technology (in mass-market applications). It is possible due to practical transfers ca 100 Mbps (theoretical limits reach 300 Mbps!). Analyzing the market potential of various technologies or services according to the number of conferences, the most promising areas seem to be payments via mobile phones and mobile TV. There were given Global Mobile Awards for the products connected with mobile technologies listed below:

USSD is instant messaging type phone service, not employing SMSC (Short Message Service Center), used for example to query the available balance, to recharge the credit etc. in pre-paid GSM services. The function of a code depends on what kind of services the operator has made available.

The congress took place in the city where you can admire beauty of ... telecommunication towers. This 136m Montjuic Communications Tower has been designed by Santiago Calatrava.

German radar stations during WWII - new discoveries. In the 6/2008 issue we have written about remains of German radar stations. Since then new locations are available on the dedicated sites, including Lask (Lahnburg), Kepno (Kemperstein), Wroclaw, Trzebnica (the place where there was operating one of the two Bernhard radars - with range of nearly 500 km), Pszczyna, Zarki.

The base of FuMG-65 Würzburg-Riese radar station used by Luftwaffe in Wroclaw, Poland. The station belonged to Bischwitz radio engineering unit.

CCTV as additional signals in apartment buildings. Housing developments and apartment buildings are usually equipped with video surveillance systems, with a number of CCTV cameras. Using antenna system it is cheap and easy to provide access to the images from the CCTV cameras to the residents. They can view them on their TV screens - any moment they want. The cameras usually cover the entrance/s to the building, parking lot, playground etc.

The diagram below presents a proven solution where analog CCTV signals modulate selectable RF channels (with MT-21P R871721 modulators) that are amplified by ZG channel amplifiers. Application of channel amplifiers eliminates unwanted products of modulation, allows to equalize signal levels within the installation and feed the system with high-level signals (possibility of extended installations). It is possible due to high amplification factor (up to 53 dB) and maximum output level (2x123 dB) - unattainable for broadband amplifiers. It is a splitter/tap distribution network. The use of taps allows much better separation among the subscribers in comparison with the solution based only on splitters. It improves stability of the network and decreases interference levels.

The residents, along with the standard services, can have access to the images from CCTV cameras

Satellite TV in a car/truck and on a campground/RV park. This year's Olympic Games and UEFA European Football Championship focus the inerest of many people, including those on their way or holidays. Modern satellite equipment enable them to watch the exciting competitions nearly everywhere they are staying, being independent from the local conditions. It can be used during the stop, at a campground etc. A good example is the set of handy 35cm dish (A9535) and DSR-8001 mobile sat receiver (A99073). The output video signal can be connected to a monitor/television equipped with SCART or RCA inputs.

A9535 35cm sat dishes can be used at campgrounds, on trailers/caravans etc. The dish is mounted with the sucker, or on a mast.

IP PTZ cameras used in wireless CCTV systems. A quick increase in sales of IP PTZ cameras is the result of wide application of wireless systems. Use of unlicensed 5 GHz band is fully sufficient both in towns and in industrial plants. It eliminates ground works and allows to build the systems very quickly. A next step for popularity of such systems is lower and lower price of the equipment - the best example is the IP PTZ camera IPS-330 K1223. The camera enables the operator to monitor a vast area, due to quick and reliable pan/tilt mechanism and powerful optical zoom (26x). For creating a universal monitoring system capable PTZ control, recording, and managing the archives we recommend to use the NUUO K3108 software package. The system can be further developed, both in the terms of the number of cameras used and new types of the cameras - the software supports majority of leading brands. For wireless data transmission we can recommend Raptor N2532 - reliable access points.

IP speed dome day/night camera - IPS-330 (MPEG-4)

Where to use vandal proof cameras. There are places where we should not try other solutions - underground passages, parking lots, parks, prisons, schools etc. All the places require us to install cameras in vandal proof housings. Vandal proof dome cameras are usually equipped with built-in wide angle lens (3.6 mm - viewing angle of 67o). An example is the camera VP-412DV2 M10744, suitable for monitoring of larger rooms, halls, parking lots with adequate lighting etc. The places with poor lighting or even sometimes without any illumination (underground parking lots, parks, local underground passages etc.) will require to use cameras equipped with IR illuminators, e.g. VP-412DV2 IR M10746. There are vandal proof cameras that enable the installer to adjust the optimal viewing angle, e.g. VPR-600 M10600, equipped with lens with adjustable focal length. The adjustment is performed manually with two rings on the lens (focal length and focus). This feature allows to cover the whole room, or focus on the most interesting area, e.g. the door.

The cameras VP-412DV2 M10744 and M10746 are equipped with brackets for wall mounting. In both cases there is possibility of concealing the cables.

Cameras in kindergarten. The first reason can be the intention of presentation the methods of work with children, the second - plain curiosity of the parents to know how their kids are doing during all that time. Thanks to the Internet many parents can any moment see and hear what happens in the kindergarten. Such an installation can employ analog cameras and DVR or video servers, or IP cameras that can be directly connected to the network. Generally, IP cameras make a more flexible system, with easy access to each camera, and lower bandwidth needs (due to higher compression levels). The first solution is shown below - based on the Pixord P4504 video server. It allows to employ up to four cameras that are available in the Internet. The transmission is available for several parents simultaneously. Using simple Java or HTML programming it is possible to limit the maximum single period of observation e.g. up to 5 minutes, to ensure accessibility to all interested parents. The second solution may use IP Pixord cameras K1131, or P400W K1132 (due to wireless transmission it is very easy to do the installation).

How to watch the kiddies

Wireless video surveillance systems. IP video monitoring is the mainstream of CCTV technology - due to simplicity of installation, accessibility and scalability. In the cases where the distances e.g. between buildings are to long to use UTP cable, there can be employed reliable Raptor devices:

Raptor family uses 802.11a standard (5 GHz) and is prepared for quick and easy installation outdoors. Access points and base stations are integrated with antennas and placed in hermetically-sealed housings, resistant to any weather conditions. The devices are supplied via UTP cable (PoE technology), which makes the installation much easier, especially on high masts. There is no risk of improper coaxial connections or additional loss in the cable.

The IP camera CAM-5320 (K1115) uses MPEG-4 ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) compression, which allows to get images with D1 resolution. It employs 1/3'' Sony Exview HAD image sensor, with 480 TVL horizontal resolution. The transmission is performed at the speed of 30fps (720 x 480 pixels, NTSC) or 25 fps (720 x 576 pixels, PAL). Equipped with LAN and WAN ports, the camera CAM-5320 utilizes QoS feature (Quality of Service, IEEE 802.1pQ), in order to make full use of the whole available band. The camera allows manual or automatic control over the speed of transmission (number of frames per second), which is important in the case of many simultaneously transmitted video streams (from other cameras).

Use of high speed IP camera CAM-6621 (K1215) from ACTi, belonging to the new family of devices that feature very good compression algorithms and transmission parameters, allows to spot quickly moving objects and cover a wide area. The camera has been equipped with 1/4" Sony Progressive image sensor that enables operation even in very low lighting. This model is Wide Dynamic Range camera, which means precise images in challenging lighting conditions. Pan/Tilt mechanism allows for quick rotation with angular speed up to 400o/s, with 0.225o resolution. Combining it with powerful optical zoom, the operator gets ideal tool for monitoring a vast area. The housing has been made according to IP66 standard, which enables operation even in very tough weather conditions.

We have written about:

DiSEqC - switching of satellite signals. The need for switching satellite signal from demanded converter (LNB) to the receiver is the reason for development of dedicated solutions. At the beginning there were used manually operated switches, then... - archive DWR of Aug. 20, 2007.

Sharing of broadband access to the Internet. The connection is provided by the ISP (cable TV, DSL, or other operator) via Ethernet interface (it may be for example cable modem with RJ-45 socket).The user will need a router equipped with WAN port (RJ-45 socket)... - archive DWR of Sept. 3, 2007.